“Like my beloved Renoir, I think that to create art is
a desire, a passion, almost an illness if you wish, that possesses you and
takes all of you, and you follow this desire.”…Valery Gromov

Born in 1964, in Kovrov, Russia. Valery Gromov was the great-grandson of an accomplished artist. Surrounded by the art of his relative, regaled with stories that related the paintings to specific areas of his own childhood experiences, he studied the subjects captured on canvas, learning what inspired his great grandfather.

Valery loved to investigate the world and events
around him, especially when spending summers with his grandfather. Valery
compared this huge, unsmiling man with a limp, to the paintings on the walls;
scenes of his grandfather as a small boy in shorts, running through fields,
playing and sleeping by the river. Drawn to oil and canvas at age twelve Valery
started painting. Grandfather’s abundant garden inspired his first effort: a
blossoming apple tree.

In 1978 Moscow
hosted an exhibition of the Premier Collection from the Prado Museum.
Valery, age 14, left school unannounced midday, and made the 600-mile train
trip in order to see masterpieces by Velasquez, Goya, and El Greco. Never having seen their work, Valery wasn’t
prepared for the power and beauty conveyed by these artists. He found a bench and sat for a long time
completely overwhelmed by the art of the Masters. Sitting there, Valery
determined to express himself through painting, hoping to transport people
similarly with his art.

At age seventeen he left his small southern
hometown for the great citadel of art, St.
Petersburg.
Without money or contacts, Valery found work guarding a weapons storage
facility in the woods. Valery used his Guard’s position to advantage; alone in
the woods he could paint undisturbed. Northern Russia’s countryside was very
different than the landscapes his great grandfather painted of his southern
home, and Valery got carried away by the beauty and hidden power of St
Petersburg.

St. Petersburg’s artists lived on the Petrograd bank of Neva River
in studios converted from attics. Valery
lived with other struggling artists, the loft often without electricity, water,
or gas for weeks. During winter, everyone slept wearing all the clothes they
could find, covering themselves with blankets, and mattresses as well. Valery
spent months cleaning streets at sub zero temperatures.

Moving from lofts to attics brought Valery to a part of the city that was Old St. Petersburg. Built during the era of Peter the Great through the end of the nineteenth century, this historical area was full of wonderful hidden corners, stained glass windows, angels and animals adorning ornate iron gates, exquisitely carved wooden doors and an atmosphere possessed by only two cities in the world – St. Petersburg and Paris. This is where Valery fell in love with rainy days, subtle light glowing from windows, reflection of lights and life on the wet asphalt: all that surrounds that memorable era of beauty and hope. Valery wandered through bookstores, second hand clothing stores, small boutiques and antique shops of old St Petersburg. Many years later he would realize how St. Petersburg resembled Paris: in autumn, early spring, Paris enchanted; glistening in the rain. The cities were twins. He fell in love with Paris exactly as he had fallen in love with St. Petersburg. Deciding that only the French - Parisians, can understand Paris. He chose to live for long periods in the beautiful city. His Paris, rain washed and nostalgic, has now become the “true” Paris to many who admire his talent and ability to see beauty in everything.

Graduating from the Donetsk Art College in 1983, he began to work as a designer at the Donetsk Art & Décor factory, creating decorative art for the private sector, official buildings and public spaces, but still painting for his own satisfaction. Later participating in The “Young Artists’ Exhibition” in St. Petersburg, Russia, a professor from St. Petersburg Academy of Art encouraged him to begin preparations for the Academy’s entrance exam. In 1993 he was accepted as a student of an esteemed Professor Kichko, participating in annual exhibitions for the Academy’s students during his five-year studies.

Valery’s
mother told him, “Always look for the truth and beauty inside others”. Inspired by those words, he would study a
person, a landscape, everything, until he began to discover, and be captured by
the underlying beauty in the world. In his paintings Valery records his
impressions for posterity; an artist must paint what he loves.
He says,
“I love this momentary feeling of beauty and regret the feeling must pass. This
is why in my Paris or St Petersburg so many reflections – people,
lights, horses, cabs, trees, are shown both in “real” life and as a memory.
Sometimes a figure is gone, but the reflection is still there.

I do not see my
goal as trying to create new, super-modern style. Like my beloved Renoir I feel
creating art is a desire, almost illness if you wish, that possesses you,
overpowers and compels you follow this desire. I love French art, love Toulouse
Lautrec, Manet, Bonnard, and De La Croix. I love their desire to live, to love;
their ability to be carried away. I want those who look at my art to be carried
away by the beauty, emotion and nostalgic feel of the artwork I create. This
and love for my wife and children are the most important things in my life.”

Valery’s own life was lifted when he met his
future wife. She lived with her parents in a small military town just outside
of St. Petersburg
and brought to his life much needed peace, beauty and love. They married and
have two daughters, Lubov (“love” in Russian), and Irina (“peace” in Greek).
Valery continually learns from their excitement in the world surrounding us. He
learns anew how to get carried away by their love and curiosity. Gromov has
participated in numerous group exhibitions in Marseilles,
Strasbourg, St Petersburg,
Nant, Paris,
and many other European cities establishing many worldwide collectors.